In the more than 60 years Hellwig Products has been in business, the company has built a solid reputation in regard to ride control. Legendary in the sway bar realm, Hellwig recently expanded the options for controlling big, heavy trucks with the addition of air-assisted helper systems.
We headed out to the company headquarters in Visalia, California, to see for ourselves what Hellwig could do for a particularly difficult combination: a four-wheel-drive ’11 Ford Super Duty F-350 with a hefty Lance camper on it. When the airbags are used in combination with the new Big Wig sway bar that’s designed just for applications like this—the ride gets even better. And if you add a front sway bar (like we did) you might not recognize the way the truck handles anymore!
| This truck obviously carries a heavy load. It could really benefit from a suspension boost.
Designing systems that work for load-specific sway control is really the strength of Hellwig. Well, that and the fact that everything is 100 percent designed and built right here in the United States.
If you’ve never considered airbags before, you should realize that they offer better handling and control under heavily loaded conditions. They reduce bottoming and provide the ability to level the heaviest loads from left to right and front to rear. Featuring an air spring with superior ride quality, this Hellwig unit softens typical loaded ride conditions by transferring load from the vehicle’s leaf spring to the Hellwig air spring. These heavy-duty air-assisted helper systems are mounted between the vehicle frame and the suspension. Each Hellwig air kit is specifically designed to maximize the safe load-carrying capacity of your vehicle up to its gross vehicle weight rating. The air kit is available with a manual fill using a remote air supply (standard), or you can add in-cab controls or even automatic load leveling, like we chose to do with this Ford pickup.
| The Hellwig air system comes complete with air springs, mounts, hardware, air lines, and very good instructions.
Hellwig air kits come complete with double-convoluted heavy-duty air springs, heavy-duty powdercoated components, zinc-plated hardware, air line, fill valves, and installation instructions.
The Big Wig series of rear sway bars are built specifically for vehicles with a high center of gravity. Truck Camper, Heavy Hauler, and Heavy Tow applications need the extra control the Big Wig provides with its larger diameter for more stability in heavily loaded conditions. The larger diameter will increase stability more than 20 percent, and extra-heavy-duty hardware provides lasting durability. Hellwig recommends you also upgrade to a Hellwig front sway bar for a complete performance and handling package, and we did just that in this case.
| The Big Wig sway bar was next on the to-do list. This arm bolts right on to an existing mount.
